Around 35 per cent of European fitness operators believe PTs are not trained with the skills they want, according to findings announced today (23 November).

The results came from a survey of 213 European employers presented at EuropeActive's 2017 International Standards Meeting (ISM), held in Rome, Italy.

They also showed that 61 per cent of operators have to provide additional training for newly hired PTs and only 16% of employers find it easy or very easy to recruit the trainers they want.

Findings from a second survey, looking at PT skills across Europe were also announced. The study, which was conducted by EuropeActive and the European Register of Exercise Professionals (EREPS) included insights from 4,200 fitness professionals, of which 3,000 were PTs, from 15 European countries.

All were questioned about their satisfaction with current vocational training, PT levels of education, happiness and job satisfaction, among other topics.

The full findings, which will be published in full in early 2018, also show that the majority of PTs are happy with their jobs, with those working in Switzerland reporting the highest levels of happiness.

Speaking to Health Club Management at the ISM, Julian Berriman, director of EuropeActive's Professional Standards Committee, said: "The survey revealed a lot of interesting views, such as PTs listing communication skills as a priority in their personal skills development.”

"My wish is that we can now develop this research and repeat this survey every two years. I hope it can become a benchmark for the industry because we need that."